Aquatic toy



April 19, 1960 R. E. STRICKLAND AQUATIC TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April11, 1957 INVENTOR. 205527 E 572/ Bl I l e /1724 I flaw-4e a April 1960R. E. STRICKLAND 2,932,916

AQUATIC TOY Filed Apr i1 11, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 W5 L W VeL-oF WATERDIS.

I I I I O I Z 3 4 5 G 8 MIN UTES INVENTOR.

05522- 5 5700a 4WD AQUATIC TOY Robert E. Strickland, Canoga Park, Calif.Application April 11, 1957, Serial No. 652,261 Claims. or. 46-92) Myinvention relates generally to aquatic toys and is particularlyconcerned with that class of toys which automatically submerge andsurface when placed in a body of water.

A major object of my invention is to provide a toy of the classdescribed having a more rapid and uniform submerging and surfacing cyclethan has been possible to obtain hitherto.

Another object of my invention is to provide a toy of the classdescribed having a mechanical structure which requires no valves orother moving parts.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a toy of the classdescribed which utilizes the phenomenon of the relatively high surfacetension efiects of water at orifices to control the surfacing andsubmerging cycle.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a toy ofthe class described having a body composed of a deformable material.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome more clearly understood by referring to the followingdescription, and to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of my invention,the solid outline showing an aquatic animal submerged in water, and thephantom outline representing the animal in surfacing position;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the animal seen at right anglesto the view shown in Figure 1 Figure 3 is a cross section along the line3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the upper section of Figure 3 shownsubmerged in a body of water;

- Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the upper section of Figure 3 shown insurfacing position;

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of myinvention showing a second aquatic animal in fragmentary cross section;and

Figure 7 is a graphical representation showing the change of specificgravity with time of applicants toy as contrasted with a toy of theprior art.

In general, the aquatic toy of the present invention consists of ahollow deformable body having small openings in the upper and lowersections thereof, a material located within the lower section of thebody which reacts with water entering through the lower openings toproduce a gas, and a means of communication between the gas generatingmaterial and the interior of the body.

Upon placing the toy in a body of water, water first enters the interiorof the body through the lower ports or openings thereof, causing it tosink slowly beneath the surface. The entry of water forces the airinitially contained within the body outwardly through the upper openingsor vents. As the Water level rises to the level of the vents, the air istrapped in the enclosed space thereabove. Simultaneously, gas isgenerated by the reaction of the gas-generating material with the waterentering through the lower ports. The gas rises through the water in theinterior of the body into the air trap tats Patent or pocket justdescribed, and forces the water outwardly through the wall openings.

The explanation for this phenomenon is believed to be that the surfacetension of the water surrounding the wall openings is sufficient topositively seal the air within the body of the toy while allowing thewater within the body to exist. As a sufficient amount of gas isgenerated the total specific gravity of the toy becomes less than oneand the toy therefore rises to the surface. As soon as the toy surfacessufficiently so that the upper openings contact the air, the trapped gasescapes from the air pocket allowing water to enter. The specificgravity of the toy is thus increased and it again submerges. The toywill thus continue to submerge and surface alternately so long as thereis sufficient amount of gas-generating material present.

The flexibility or deformability of the body walls is advantageous incausing a more rapid initial displacement of air from within the maininterior of the body as water enters the lower ports. Also, theflexibility of the body walls, generally speaking, renders the toy muchmore sensitive to changes in the internal air and/or water pressurethereby enabling the toy to undergo a series of more uniform submergingsand surfacing-s than would be possible with rigid walls.

Referring now especially to Figures 1 through 3, an aquatic animal 10 isshown comprising essentially a hollow body 12 of generally conical shapeand gas-generating means 14 contained within the lower section thereof.

The body 12 has a pair of fins 15 attached thereto and integrally formedtherewith. A plurality of tentacles 16 are aflixed to the lower edge 17of the body 12, which, during submergence of the animal 10, flareoutwardly, and during the upward phase of movement, flares inwardly,thereby imparting a realistic undulating motion to the animal.

The flexible or deformable walls, 18 of the body 12, the fins 15, andthe tentacles 16 maybe made of any water-resistant material that issomewhat heavier or lighter than water, two materials found particularlyadvantageous being polyethylene film (specific gravity 0.95) or vinylfilm (specific gravity 1.2).

The body 12 is closed at its uppermost point 19, its lower end beingopen to receive the gas-generating means 14. A pair of smalldiametrically opposed escape vents or openings 20 are provided in theupper section of the walls 18 near the upper end 19 of the body 12. Asecond pair of diametrically opposed inlet ports or openings 22 areprovided in the lower section of the walls 18 near the lower edge 17 ofthe body 12. v

As is best shown in Figure 3, a gas-generating means 14, comprising aninverted container 24, a cap 26 therefor, and a gas-generating substance28 held within the container is affixed within the open lower, end ofthe body 12.

The inverted container 24 is made of a water-insoluble material such aspolyethylene or a vinyl plastic, and has a side wall 34 sloping inwardlyto meet the upper wall 32 at a slightly obtuse angle. The upper wall 32.is provided with a small aperture 30 extending therethrough, theaperture forming a communicating passage between the gasgeneratingsubstance 28 and the interior of the body 12. The cap 26, made of awater-insoluble material such as styrene, is tightly fitted within thewidened mouth of the,

container 24 thereby retaining the gas-generating sub-. stance 28 withinthe container and providing a water-tight seal for the gas-generatingmeans 14. The specific gravity.

of the gas-generating means 14 is preferably somewhat. above that ofwater.

The lower section of the side wall 34 of the container 24 is affixed tothe lower end of the walls 18 of the body as by the use of a waterinsoluble adhesive, thereby completely sealing the lower end of thebody.

The gas-generating material retained within the container 24 ispreferably a mixture of sodium bicarbonate, cream of tartar, tartaricacid, and starch. The abovedescribed mixture. is found in many of thepresently commercially available baking powders. The baking powder isprefer-ably compacted. to two-thirds of its original volume within thecontainer 24 so that a more uniform generation of gas may occur uponcontact with water which enters the gas-generating means 14, throughaperture 30, of the container.

It will bev understood that upon aifixing the gas-generating means 14within the body 12 in the manner described, the aquaticv animal 1.0. iscomplete and is capable of achieving the objectsof. this, invention.

The gas-generating means 14 as has been mentioned, has aspec fic gravitygreater'than that of water. Therefore, when the animal is placed in abody of water, the

As water enters the interior of the body 12, the animal 10 continues tosink and air is forced out of the body through escape vents 20 which arestill in contact with the atmosphere above the water surface. The body12 of the animal continues to sink due to the weight of the waterentering the interior of the body, and air is continually being forcedfrom within the body through vents 20 until the vents are below thesurface of the water. A small volume of air is then trapped above thevents 20, an air pocket 40, as best .seen in Figure 1, being thus formedadjacent the upper end 19 of the animal 10. It is to be noted that therate at which the initially deflated animal sinks is relatively rapidbecause less air must be displaced to cause its submergence than wouldbe the case if it possessed relatively rigid walls and a correspondinglylarger volume of air to be initially displaced.

Referring now especially to Figure 4, the specific gravity of the animal10, when filled with water to a level 21,

, equivalent tothe uppermost points of escape vents 20,

is such as to be slightly greater than that of water and therefore theanimal will continue to sink downwardly beneath, the water surface.

communicates with the gas-generating material 28, such as baking powdervia aperture 30. The water reacts with the baking powder 28 to generatea series of carbon dioxide gaseous bubbles which rise into, andthrough,the interior of the. body 12. These bubbles 42 rise through the waterwithin the body 12.,into the air pocket 40 above the vents. 20 andcreate .a downward pressure, designated as p, in Figure 4, within theair pocket forcing the water out of the body through either or both theupper or lower vents 20, 22, respectively. The air and carbon dioxidegases, however, do not escape through vents 20, even though the waterlevel within the interior of the body is at some point below level 21,the reason being that the surface tension of the water at the vents 20is sufiicient to prevent escape of the gas from within the interior ofthe body 12 outwardly, and, in eifect, acts as a water seal, entrappingthe air within the body. Only when the vents emerge from the water doesthe surface tension seal break and permit the gas to escape. Thus, it isseen that as the animal 10 continues sinking downwardly, carbon dioxidegas is continually being generated which displaces the water within the.interior of the body 12 thereby lessening the total weight. As asufficient amount of gas is generated, the total specific gravity of theanimal becomes less than one and the animal 10 will then reverse itsdirection and rise to the water surface.

The animal 10 will continue to rise until its upper end 19. protrudesfrom the water sufliciently so that a tiny 4 segment of the escape vents20 are open to the atmos phere, as is best seen in Figure 5. At thispoint they effect of surface tension is removed and the gas entrappedwithin the interior of body 12 escapes into the atmosphere in thedirection shown by the arrows because the water seal surrounding thevents 21? has been broken. As the gas escapes, water will again enterthe interior of the body 32 thereby causing the weight of the animal iiito increase to a point above the specific gravity of water. The animalrises within the interior of body 12 to a point just equivato theuppermost point of the vents, the specific gravity of the animal isslightly above 1 to cause it-to continue submerging. The positioning ofthe Vents may thus be readily mathematically ascertained from thegeometry, volume of water displacement, and the total it is apparentthat the plurality of tentacles 16 will i-mdulate outwardly and inwardlyas the animal undergoes a submerging and surfacing step respectively.The undulating action imparts a particularly realistic appearance to themovement of the animal 10 in the water.

Referring now to Figure 6, a single-fin shark 56 is shown comprising abody 52' and a gas-generating means 1d. contained within the interior ofthe body.

The gas-generating means 14 has an aperture 39 which acts as acommunicating passage between the interior of the body '52 and thegas-generating power 23 and is substantially identical in constructionto the gasgencrating means 14, previously described with reference tothe animal 1d. Water inlet ports 54 and 56 are provided in the body 52near the mouth and tail of the shark, respectively. Escape vent 53 isprovided, in the upper section of the. shark 5 0, lying below theextreme upper point of the fin 60.

The body 52 of the shark may be made of vinyl or polyethylene plasticfilm as previously described. The gas-generating means 14 has a specificgravity above one so that when the shark is placed in the water, it willbegin to sink slowly.

The submerging and surfacing action of the. shark 50v is substantiallysimilar to the action previously described with reference to the aquaticanimal 10. When the shark Sit-is placed upon the water surface, it willsink slowly due to the weight of the gasgenerating means 14, therebyenabling water to enter the inlet port 54 of the shark. The weight ofthe shark being thus increased, it will continue to sink slowly untilupper inlet port 56 is also submerged, the air then being driven outthrough escape vent 58. The shark 50 continues to sink expelling airfrom vent 58 until the vent itself is submerged. An air pocket is thenformed within. fin 60, the total specific gravity of the shark being, atthis point, just above that ofzwater.

As. soon as the animal is placed'in the water, gas is generatedcontinuously because of the contact of the water with the gas-generatingmaterial 28. As a sufficient amount of gas is generated, water is forcedfrom the body 52 outwardly by the gas pressure through either vent 58and/or ports 54 and 56. When a sufiicient amount of water is displacedfrom within the body of the shark 50 to. lower the specific gravitybelow one,

the shark will begin to rise to the surface. However, as describedpreviously, as soon as a segment of the vent 58 contacts the air theeffect of surface tension is removed and the water seal surrounding thevent breaks, the trapped gas simultaneously escaping into theatmosphere, enabling water to enter the body 52 thereby increasing thespecific gravity of the shark above one, and causing it to againsubmerge. It will be readily seen that, as with the aquatic animal 10,the submerging-surfacing cycle of the shark will continue so long as thegas-gene'rating powder remains.

It will also be seen that the principles of the invention are applicablelikewise to substantially vertical objects, such as the aquatic animal10, and to substantially horizontal objectsv as illustrated by the shark50 of Figure 6.

Aquatic devices or toys of the type described above are known which havea vent hole formed in the uppermost point thereof and a lower inletport. The vent has, for its purpose, the rapid expellation of theaccumulated gases, from within the interior of the toy, to theatmosphere, as the toy surfaces. However, such toys do not have thecharacteristics of a rapid submerging and surfacing cycle as inapplicants device.

Because the vent is at the extreme upper point of the prior art aquatictoy, no air pocket can be formed therein. In order for the toy tocompletely submerge, it must have, when filled with water, a specificgravity of over one. That is to say, the body material and thegasgenerating material must themselves have a specific gravity of overone. If these solid materials have a specific gravity of, for example1.2, that of polyethylene, the amount of gas-generation necessary tocause ascent of the toy-becomes appreciable, as will be seen in detailfrom the following example. The toy will therefore remain below thewater surface for some time before surfacing. However, by employing theapplicants device the previously-described air pocket renders itpossible to achieve a much faster rate of descent than is possible bythe toys .of the prior art, even though the same body materials areused.

Referring now to Figure 7, a graph is shown wherein the rate'of varianceof the specific gravity of an aquatic toy is plotted against time inminutes. The solid line denotes the submerging and surfacing cycle of atoy of the prior art having a vent at its uppermost point, its Walls andgas-generating means having specific gravity of 1.2.

For the purpose of illustration, assume that the walls and thegas-generating means of applicants toy have the same specific gravity asthat of the prior art toy and that the total weight of each toy is thesame and equal to 12 grams. Assume also that each toy is hollow and hasthe same inner volume of 98 cc. and the same displacement in water(outer) volume e.g. 100 cc. Further assume that the rate of gasgeneration is the same in both devices, the rate being 0.4 cc. perminute.

Referring now only to the prior art toy, at zero time the toy is placedin water and submerges totally, for example, in 0.5 minutes. In thistime the interior of the device is filled with water so that its totalweight becomes 110 grams, comprising 98 grams of water and 12 grams ofsolid materials. Since it displaces 100 cc. of water, its specificgravity becomes 1.1. Thus, its specific gravity increases linearly, as afirst approximation from approximately 0.12 to 1.10 in 0.5 minutes.

Since the rate of gas-generation is stipulated to be 0.4 cc. per minute,the specific gravity of the animal will be approximately equal to waterin 2.5 minutes after initial total submergence. However, the toy willcontinue to become lighter, due to continued gas generation, since itcannot immediately surface to expel the generated gas. Assuming a periodof 0.5 minute for ascent, the rate of decrease of specific gravity withtime is shown, as a first approximation, to be a linear function passingdownward- 1y from a specific gravity of 1.10, through 1.0, toapproximate1y'0.98 the total'elapsed cycle time being approximately3.0'minutes.

Practically instantaneously upon surfacing, the specific gravity of theanimal increases to 1.10, as shown by the vertical line extending fromspecific gravity 0.98 to 1.10, the almost instantaneous increase beingcaused by the immediate escape of gas from the uppermost vent, thusallowing water to enter the inlet ports to return the specific gravityof the animal to 1.10. The submerging step will then commence again.

Referring now to the applicant's toy 10 the toy 10 is introduced intowater at zero time. The weight of the device is 12 grams, and its waterdisplacement and inner volume is somewhat less than cc. because itspliable deformable walls are initially deflated. Assume for example thatthe outer volume of the deflated toy is initially 50 00., its initialspecific gravity is 0.24. The toy, upon being placed in water, increasesin specific gravity as its interior commences'to be filled with water,the toy therefore, commences to sink. As the vents 20 reach the watersurface, the specific gravity of the animal reaches its maximum as shownby the following calculations:

Assuming the volume of the air pocket formed above the vents to be Xcc., then the weight in air of the toy is, atthis point (98-X) gms.water plus 12 gms. material, or (l10-X) grams. The loss of weight of thetoy in water is equal to the volume of Water displaced by the toy, orapproximately (100-X) gms. Since the specific gravity of the toy isequal to the weight of the body in air divided by the loss of weight inwater the specific gravity is 100-X The volume of the air pocket X, isrelatively small, for example 8 cc. and the specific gravity as thevents reach the water level is therefore weight in air volume waterdisplaced 98-X plus 12 andwhen X equals 8 the specific gravity becomesThus, the curve for applicants device starts at a specific gravity of0.24 and, assuming the same rate of submergence as in the prior artdevice, will be completely submerged in approximately 0.4 minutes havingreached the specific gravity peak of 1.13, thereafter dropping suddenlyto 1.02.

Since the rate of gas generation was stipulated to be 0.4 cc. perminute, the specific gravity of the animal will be lowered to that ofwater in approximately 0.5 minute. As described previously, withreference to the prior art device, the animal will continue to becomelighter, due to continued gas generation, since it cannot surfaceimmediately to expel the trapped gas. Assuming a like period of ascentas with the prior art device, namely 0.5 minute, the rate of decrease ofspecific gravity with time is shown, as a first approximation to be alinear function passing downwardly from a specific gravity of 1.02,through 1.0 to approximately 0.98, the total elapsed cycle time beingapproximately 1.0 minutes.

Practically instantaneously upon surfacing, the specific .7 gravity ofthe animal increases to 1.02 as shown by the vertical line extendingfrom specific gravity 0.98 to 1.02. The submerging step will thencommence again.

It is seen that the total submer'ging time of the applicants device isapproximately 0.5 minute contrasted with an approximately 2.5 minuteperiod for the prioriart device, both devices having the same innervolume and displacement volume as well as the same weight in air. It canalso be readily seen that a more rapid submergingsurfacing cycle resultsby the use of applicants device, the specific example illustrating thatthe applicants toy makes approximately 3 times the number of cycles thatthe prior art toy makes in the same time period.

The toy of the applicants device may be made of a great range ofmaterials, and is not necessarily restricted to those few materialshaving a specific gravity just above that of water for, by merelyregulating the size of the heretofore described air pocket, the totalspecific gravity of the toy when submerged can readily be adjusted to bejust above that of water.

Many modifications and changes may be made that lie within the scope ofthis invention. Therefore, I do not intend to be limited by theembodiments herein described and illustrated, but only by the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. An aquatic toy for immersion in water comprising: a hollow bodyhaving a closed top and substantially vertical depending side wall; awater-actuated gas generator supported in said body; means forming avent in said side wall said vent being located, at a level such thatwhen the upper portion of said body is filled with gas above the loweredge of-said vent said toy floats and when such gas escapes to a levelat the upper edge of said vent said toy sinks and said vent beingsufliciently small that the surface tension in the water-gas interfaceacross the same prevents the passage of gas therethrough except whensaid vent is above the surface of water in which said body is immersed.

2. An aquatic toy comprising: a hollow body having a water actuated gasgenerator therein and a flotation dome formed in the upper portionthereof in communication with said generator to receive gas therefrom,the volume of said dome being such as to float said body and generatorwhen filled to a pre-determined level with gas generated by saidgenerator; means to admit water to said generator when said body isimmersed; means forming a vent in the non-horizontal side walltof saiddome adjacent said pre-determined level, said vent being of substantialsize and having at least a portion thereof extending above saidpre-determined level whereby when said-body rises to the surface due tofilling of said dome with gas as aforesaid, said vent emerges above thesurface breaking the surface tension at said vent and permitting gas toescape from said dome to a level at the top of said vent causing saidbody to sink.

3. An aquatic toy comprising: a hollow body having a water actuated gasgenerator therein and a flotation dome formed in the upper portionthereof in communication with said generator to receive gas therefrom;means forming a vent in the non-horizontal side wall of said dome saidvent being' located in the dome at a point where thegas volume lyingabove the level of the lower edge of said vent-is suflicient to floatsaid body and generator while the gas volume lying above the upper edgeof said vent is insufficient to float said body and generator and saidvent being sufficiently small that the surface tension in the water-gasinterface across said vent is sufficient to prevent the passage of gasthrough said vent until said vent emerges above the surface of water inwhich said body is immersed.

4. The construction of claim 3 in which the generator is located belowsaid vent.

5. An aquatic device'comprising: a hollowed-out body having a flotationdome formed in the upper portion thereof; a source of gas communicatingwith said flotation dome for introduction of gas thereinto; and meansforming a vent in the non-horizontal side wall of said dome, said ventbeing located in the dome at ajpoint where the gas volume lying abovethe level of the lower edge of said vent is suflicient to float saidbody while the gas volume lying above the upper edge of said vent isinsuflicient to float said body and said vent being sufliciently smallthat the surface tension in the water-gas interface across said vent issufficient to prevent the passage -of gas through said vent until saidvent emerges above the surface of water in which said body is immersed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

